


Face in the Crowd

by LetsPlayKate



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 20:32:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15871227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetsPlayKate/pseuds/LetsPlayKate
Summary: She must have felt my eyes on her, because she looked around for a moment, adorably scrunching her eyebrows together. And if I wasn’t so smitten in that moment, I would have had the sense to realize what was happening and look away before she caught me staring. But Iwassmitten, and shedidcatch me.





	Face in the Crowd

**Author's Note:**

> This is just something I wrote. I like the University AU, so I figured I'd give it a shot. It's also something a little different for me. Trying something new. (It's all new to me, tbh.) I've had this mostly written for nearly two months and I finally finished it after a night of drinking. I just want to get it posted and done with so I have no real excuse for not like EDIT editing it. So please excuse the wonky tenses. I'm also not very used to writing in first person, so that doesn't help my tense issues.

The first time I saw her, it wasn’t anything special.

I was walking to my 11am Anatomy and Physiology class. Truthfully, I hated the class. It’s my least favorite of all the classes I teach. It’s filled with freshmen who think they can pass without studying or doing homework. As if you can learn the proper names and locations of every bone and muscle without studying or showing up for classes and labs.

The walk from the cafeteria to class was generally uneventful. The campus is beautiful, it always has been, but after attending this university for my graduate studies and now teaching here for several years, it has lost its luster. It is only two weeks into the semester and some leaves have begun to change from their natural, vibrant greens. But to be honest, it all blends together in my eyes.

I walked with my heavy bag slung over my shoulder. The textbooks for my classes were generally thick and heavy, and my classrooms vary, so I have to carry my course materials for each class. At the beginning of the semester, Mei, a friend (and colleague) and I realized that we had a class at the same time, so we began walking together after lunch. Mei teaches Ecology in the same building as my entry level A&P course, so our trek together is a definite reprieve in my otherwise busy day.

It’s always interesting to watch the students at this time of year. Seeing their youthful enthusiasm fade into stress as the semester goes on. Most students look happy, laughing with their friends, as they are starting the school year. I remember being excited to see my (few) friends after a long summer alone. Others, however, the older students mostly, look overwhelmed. I remember being there, too. Wishing that the mid-semester break was already here, even though it was only the first week of the semester. College isn’t easy. You can tell which ones are the hard workers, and which ones are just enjoying the college experience. To be honest, I wish had been one of the latter.

I’m 28 years old and have a nonexistent social life. I absolutely love where I’m at. I am the top in my field for a reason. I didn’t party when I had the chance, but I am world renown for being the youngest and most successful in my field. It’s a (not so) small price to pay for the ability to teach and conduct research in the field of my choice. Unfortunately, my success came at the cost of my social life. While I only teach four to five courses each semester, on top of my research in nanotechnology, I generally have very little time for socializing with my fellow colleagues, let alone attempting to date anyone.

One day, as we made our boring walk to class, a woman caught my eye. I noticed her only because of her friend. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a tall girl, nearly jumping, waving her arms in excitement. She had auburn hair and was nearly as pale as myself, with freckles adorning almost every part of her visible skin. But after only a glimpse at girl, my eyes flicked over to the woman walking next to her.

She stood tall and effortlessly confident, but seemingly worn out at the same time. She had a slight limp as she walked, smiling at her friend. The woman had gorgeous tanned skin, dark hair, and was taller than most other female students (and most male students, as well). I’m fairly tall, and even wearing heels, this woman seemed to have a good three inches on me.

She also seemed older than the other students who were in the crowd. Compared, even to her redheaded friend, she was obviously several years older. Something about the way she held herself emanated maturity. Not only that, but there was something about her that made her seem older. Perhaps it was the way she held herself. She didn’t seem insecure, but held herself with a sense of pride. And after a cursory glance, I could see small creases by her eyes and slight laughter lines adorning her cheeks.

The younger girl seemed quite excited about something, walking sideways next to the tanned woman, waving her arms frantically around as she told her story, whatever it may have been. But the beautiful, tanned woman just grinned and nodded, as she held tightly onto the shoulder straps of her backpack and listened to the story.

We didn’t make eye contact, but I felt drawn to watch her as she passed me. It wasn’t anything spectacular. I wasn’t stopped in my tracks by her beauty, or anything as cliché as that. That’s not to say that she isn’t beautiful, because damn, what little bit of her I saw was down right gorgeous.

The moment wasn’t anything to remember. And yet, it - _something_ \- felt different. _I_ somehow felt different after this seemingly benign crossing of paths. I had never met this woman; I’d never even seen her before today and yet I felt drawn to her. Not in the soulmates, “I knew you were The One  TM the moment I laid eyes on you", type of way, but it just felt _right_.

Mei tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I had been listening to her story. I wasn’t. And just as quickly as it began, the moment was over. She passed me, still listening and nodding to her friend. And I was stuck fumbling on my words, trying to remember exactly what Mei had been saying before I zoned out, staring at pretty women (well, one pretty woman, in particular).

I heard her sigh and begin her story about a student in her graduate class, from the beginning. As she talked about the student’s thesis papers, I turned and scanned the crowd. It wasn’t hard to find who I was looking for, considering she and her friend were tall enough to stand out, not to mention the redhead was now practically jumping, shoving her phone into the beautiful woman’s face. I smiled as I watched the pair head toward the cafeteria (for a disappointing lunch, no doubt), ant turned back to Mei without another thought.

It wasn’t until two week later that I saw her again. I was having a particularly good day. Better than usual, in fact. It was Thursday, and I had one more day of shitty classes until the weekend. I’d stayed late in my shared office for the last few evenings, wasting away the time that I usually spent doing nothing anyways (not with the nonexistent social life that I have), grading tests.

It was worth it though; those long, late hours, pouring over the frustratingly abysmal exams of my freshman classes, and the less abysmal, but still frustrating exams of my higher level students, left my weekend completely and totally free. My plans were already set in stone. I will be sitting on the couch, with my cat, Bastion, and binge watching Netflix shows I had seen a thousand times already.

My colleagues, Mei and Winston, tried to convince me to go to the local bar with them. They complained that I was going to turn into an old spinster or cat lady. But to be honest, I was fairly content relaxing, after working myself to the bone, watching predictable television shows and eating ice cream, with my cat curled up on my stomach.

Mei wasn’t able to walk with me today, busy with an impromptu department meeting. And that left me cheerfully walking alone, taking in the cool, lovely weather, totally undeterred by my impending Anatomy and Physiology class.

The scenery was beautiful at this time of year. The summer air turned into a brisk, fall breeze. As the weather changed, so did the leaves. The brightness of summer, all but gone, giving way to autumn’s beautiful hues of oranges and reds. Some leaves started to fall, floating through the air during particularly heavy gusts of wind, and littering the grass and pavement. It was a gorgeous sight, second only to the campus during winter, but I’ve always been a little biased to the colder months of the year.

She was walking with the redhead again. They must be in the same class. I was far enough away this time (and Mei wasn’t distracting me), that I was able to get a better look at her. Today, she was wearing a pair of black joggers and a gray, comfortable looking shirt that said ARMY across the chest. Unlike the last time I saw the mystery woman, I was able to get a good view of her face. And boy, I was not disappointed.

She was flawless; perfect. One of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. To be completely honest, if I was still young and questioning my sexuality, she would have been the one that made me realize that I'm not nearly as straight as my teenage self thought I was.

Messy black hair, adorned with several golden beads, that framed her flawless face, with high cheekbones and a sharp jawline. She had a beautifully unique tattoo under her eye that I had not previously seen. Broad shoulders and a generously sized chest stretched her t-shirt perfectly (not that I was staring or anything). It wasn’t too tight, but enough to make me wonder what more she under those clothes.

As they walked by, the redhead’s face was glued to her phone, a huge grin plastered on her face. I’ve never understood how people could navigate through crowds while staring intently at their cellphones. I can hardly walk and talk at the same time, let alone basically stare at the pavement while I walked.

The attractive student (she must be a student, as I’ve never seen her at faculty meetings or around the offices), had a small, content smile as she walked in companionable silence with her friend. That smile drew me in and sent a small spike of heat through my chest. I smiled, thinking about how I felt the same way I had when I first saw her two weeks ago. It somehow made me happier, knowing she was content, walking in silence with her friend. It left me smiling, too.

She must have felt my eyes on her, because she looked around for a moment, adorably scrunching her eyebrows together. And if I wasn’t so smitten in that moment, I would have had the sense to realize what was happening and look away before she caught me staring. But I _was_ smitten, and she _did_ catch me.

I felt my eyes widen and heat rise to my cheeks, and I swear it was purely by instinct because I don’t remember telling my body to betray me in such a way. To my relief, she gave me a small smile and a polite nod. I smiled, bigger and more eager than I wanted to, and gave her a nod back as we passed each other. I didn’t realize a complete stranger could have such an effect on me. Despite it being the most challenging moment in my history of self control, I forced myself not to look back after her.

For the next several weeks, she became a pleasant part of my routine. Every time I left the cafeteria, with or without Mei, I would look for my mysterious, new friend. We crossed paths almost every day. I might have gone out of my way to see if she would be there other days, considering that she came from the sciences building. My hypothesis (purely scientific, I promise) was confirmed. I saw her and her redheaded friend walking from the sciences building every day except for Friday.

I wasn’t stalking her, by any means. But there is something about seeing someone who looks so purely genuine in every way possible. And I wanted more of it. Even on days when this mystery woman looked exhausted and worn out, bags under her barely opened eyes, she always put a weary smile for her energetic friend, seemingly never letting on that she was tired.

Nearly every day, we found each other’s eyes amidst the bustling crowd, smiled and nodded to each other. And while it was purely platonic (much to my dismay), it felt nice— an unspoken connection with someone new. It always brightened my day and I hope it brightened her day as well. I hope that my smile and nod meant every bit as much to her, as hers did to me. Even when I’m having an awful day, I had a sliver of hope. I had a perfect moment in my day when I could see a friendly face. I knew so very little about a woman who so suddenly rooted herself so deeply into my daily life. It was both alarming and thrilling at the same time.

One particular warm day in mid-October, probably the last day before t-shirts and shorts would be replaced with sweaters and jeans, the sun was shining brightly over the outdoor eating areas where I sat with Mei. I was telling her about one of the freshmen in my classes that insisted that I graded his exam wrong. We laughed and she shared similar stories of her own students.

It was a beautiful day, and thankfully I had chosen to pack my own lunch. I took a bite of my homemade sandwich and closed my eyes as I relished in the light breeze that tickled my skin. Eating outside was a deviation to our usual routine, and as such, I missed seeing my new friend. Or so I thought.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her. It was pure chance, or perhaps it was fate. A student threw a frisbee and an unexpected gust of wind caused it to sail over his friend's outstretched arms. I watched as it floated down, hitting the pavement and skidding several feet farther right into the shoes of the beautiful woman. 

Today, she wore shorts. I didn’t think I could get any more attracted to this woman. Her right leg was missing, replaced with a metal, cybernetic prosthetic leg, which explained the slight limp I previously diagnosed. As a professor, not working in the field anymore, I’d rarely seen anything like it.

I taught so that I was able to receive a grant to study nanobiology, and often, by proxy, cybernetics. Despite this, I rarely was able to see such a fine piece of work up close. Generally, such prosthetics were not given to civilians. More often than not, they were given to higher ranking military personnel, or people rich enough to afford it.

My eyes greedily roamed her body, not even hiding the fact that I was undressing her with my eyes. Her shorts unfortunately left much to the imagination, ending right above her knees. It allowed me only to see her calves and a glimpse of her strong thighs as she took long strides, walking fast to keep up with the quick steps of her friend.

She wore her usual perfectly tight t-shirt, straining against her shoulders, chest, and _gods_ those biceps (how did I not notice those before). I may have licked my lips, but my mind was in too much of a haze to realize. I felt heat rising up my neck to my face, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I was dimly aware that I was broadcasting how embarrassingly attracted I was to this woman. A woman that I had never actually met. My eyes raised further and to look at hers and I thanked whatever gods that may be that she hadn’t seen me staring at her.

I only tore my eyes away when I heard Mei clear her throat. I looked down at my food, almost feeling scolded by her obvious interruption of my less than clean thoughts about those damn legs and how they might feel under my hands and against my body. My blush deepened, knowing I was caught. When I did muster up the courage to look up, she was smirking and that was somehow even more embarrassing. I stumbled over my words, trying to convince my friend, and colleague, that I was not, in fact, openly checking out a student. But instead, I was just interested that she had a cybernetic prosthetic. It was a poor excuse and we both knew it didn’t justify my positively lust-filled eyes. She smiled knowingly, and changed the subject quickly, saving me from the pain of embarrassing myself further.

After my reckless lapse in judgment, I didn’t quite fall back into our routine. In fact, I avoided our routine all together. Getting caught had made me realize that I was lusting after a _student_. I was so ashamed of myself that I lied to Mei, probably my closest friend, for nearly a week and a half. I walked a new route and ate at a different time, occupying all of my time with grading mid-terms and a new workout routine.

After nearly two weeks of my half-assed excuses as to why I couldn’t walk to our classes together, I sucked it up and resumed my old routine with Mei. I was tense. My entire Wednesday morning was spent thinking about that one moment in time when I knew I would pass her. I picked at my lunch as Mei caught me up on everything that happened in the time I spent isolating myself. This only made me feel more guilty.

We packed up our lunch and began our trek to class. I stared intently at the pavement as we walked in silence. It was overcast today; a gust of wind sent a shiver down my spine and I burrowed myself deeper into my winter coat, covering my lower face in the scarf wrapped around my neck.

Instinctively, half way through our walk, I knew we would cross paths. I could feel her eyes on me, probably wondering where I had been. Despite every fiber in my body screaming at me to lift my gaze from the leaf covered pavement to meet her eyes, I didn’t. I gritted my teeth and looked anywhere but her. I felt her watch me as we passed each other, and when she was behind us, I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Mei asked me if I was okay, and I smiled and nodded. But the sinking feeling in my chest and stomach told me otherwise.

I felt terrible. Never before had someone, let alone a stranger, impacted my life so much. I let my last class leave early, the students’ cheering excitedly as I sighed in dismay. I sat in the chair and looked at the pile of papers I needed to grade, hoping it would be enough to distract me from the dull ache in my chest.

It didn’t.

The next day, Thursday, it was raining. Mei and I finished our lunch quicker than usual to allow for enough time to get to class in the cold, miserable weather. I didn’t expect to see her today. But I did. I got to the building before Mei, so I opened the door for her, letting her run inside. I followed right after her, closing my umbrella and shaking the cold out of my bones.

A loud group of students rounded the corner and she was among them, chatting with the tall redhead. Before I could look away, she glanced up and met my eyes, only for a moment. I quickly turned away. I couldn’t help myself though and after looking everywhere else, my eyes met with hers again. She was still looking at me; I don’t think she ever looked away. She looked confused and sad for a moment, wordlessly asking why I ignored her the day prior, before giving a hopeful smile.

I couldn’t help the small smile that spread across my lips. Seeing my smile, she laughed and grinned widely, causing me to smile wider. I had to look away, this time because I didn’t want her to see my blush. After that day, we fell back into our routine.

We smiled and nodded as we passed each other. Nothing more, nothing less. I wanted to just meet her and find out who she was. What was her name? What does her voice sound like? What was her laugh like? I wanted so badly to find out if her hand fit into mine, or if she would care if my hands were usually cold. I knew if fate were real, it would happen. That’s what I told myself anyways. And so I waited on fate to bring us together.

Fall faded into winter and it was nearing the end of the semester. I was running late. I was tired. I was overworked. I had been up past midnight every night this week grading papers and exams and the light at the end of the tunnel was still only barely visible. Finals week was in two weeks and which meant I had almost four weeks until I was able to celebrate the end of my semester as a professor.

Thankfully, Mei understood that I became reclusive towards the end of the semester, and our usual walks to class were less frequent. Today was one of those days that we didn’t walk together. I spent most of my day in my office, doing paperwork for not only the end of this semester, but for the next semester as well. I was ready to go home and crack open a new bottle of wine I was saving just for week like this, but I had one more class left for the week.

As I finished reviewing paperwork from the head of my department, I glanced at the clock on my computer. I was going to be late for class. Panicking, I grabbed a handful of papers and my bag. I headed for the door and rushed down the hallway. The halls were bare and quiet aside my panting, as I nearly ran to the exit. I pushed the door open with my hip, struggling to shove my papers into my bag, I ran into someone.

It’s cliché, really. We ran into each other. Papers went flying. There was rushed apologies from both parties, as we scrambled to grab the papers before they were taken by the wind. When I looked up, I saw a familiar set of brown eyes, widened in surprise. A familiar tattoo. A familiar smile.

“Hi,” I breathed.

“Hey,” she smiled. And it was everything and nothing at he same time. It was so many things. The build up of so much, all put together in a perfectly anti-climactic moment.

The first time I saw her, it wasn’t anything special. But the first time I met her, it was definitely something spectacular.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> For those who are reading The Healing Process. I'm still working on it. Life gets in the way. I have my next chapter pretty much written. I've had it written since April, which is annoying enough that I couldn't just force myself to finish it and post it. But I'm going to work on posting it by next week since today (literally today) is my one year wedding anniversary, lol.
> 
> I have ideas for continuing this, but it's honestly not a priority. If you guys are interested though, I will give it a shot.
> 
> BTW. Brigitte (obvi the redhead) was telling Fareeha all about her crush (a nerdy gamer by the name of Hana Song).


End file.
